Delay violating voters rights

I NOTE with interest the comments made by Prime Minister James Marape during his recent trip to New Zealand.
The Prime Minister stated that the consultation on the results of the Referendum should take at least five years before Parliament ratifies the results of the Referendum.
Obviously this is not in the best interest of the people of Bougainville.
Bougainvilleans view this comment from the PM as a delay tactic by the PNG Government aimed at frustrating the peace process on Bougainville.
Many Bougainvilleans would like to see a political status (independence) for Bougainville established in their life time.
This comments from the PM only disheartens elderly Bougainvillean men and women who are in their 80s and 90s, wanting to witness a new Bougainville government.
If the PM keeps delaying this consultation process, this can be viewed as an act of frustrating self-determination for Bougainville.
Marape needs to understand that the negotiations between Bougainville and PNG that led to the establishment of the Autonomous Bougainville Government did not take five years.
It only took almost two years to negotiate.
Two years of intensive negotiation was necessary as both parties needed more than one year of negotiation to create something out of nothing.
The referendum results is a different scenario compared to the negotiations on the peace talks and Bougainvilleans have made their position clear to PNG through the 98 per cent vote for independence.
How can the PNG Government ignore the position and the wish of Bougainvilleans and give excuses?
The onus is on PNG to tell Bougainville leaders whether they are happy to let Bougainville go or not.
If PNG is reluctant to let Bougainville go, it should propose a political status that should cater for the wishes of the 98 per cent Bougainvilleans who voted for independence.
So long as that political status will bring everlasting peace to Bougainville.
This political status should be in place for at least the next eight years.

Pau Piahe,
Aitara Village, Siwai